Julie Gilkay: Coming to terms with great expectations

As we were riding in the van and the rain continued to slam down on us, the thundering noise masked the music on the radio and I gripped my armrest a little tighter.

The slamming rain continued its assault on the window, nearly blocking our view. While the kids were occupied with their books and electronics and apparently oblivious to the storm on steroids, I was panicked ... and then reassured we would be just fine.

We continued on at a slow pace, following a bus with bright lights in front of us until the quickly developing commotion passed.

While my first thought was about our safety, my second was about my parents. My mom and dad wouldn't be happy. They would have wanted us to pull over.

I felt like I let them down.

As children, we never outgrow wanting to please our parents, no matter how old we are. Is it because we would feel sad if something happened, or is it a sign they raised us well - to make good choices, be considerate and act wisely?

The ordeal reminded me of the time we were on our way to Minnesota in a snowstorm and decided to stop at a hotel in Eau Claire unexpectedly to spend the night rather than continue to take on the whiteout conditions and choke the life out of our steering wheel.

After all, that's what my dad would have wanted us to do.

Will our children do the same? Will they keep us and years of life lessons in the backs of their minds when making both big and benign decisions? I hope so.

There's comfort in that.

- Julie Gilkay: 920-993-1000, ext. 319, or jgilkay@postcrescent.com. On Twitter @JulieGilkay. She is the mother of Benjamin, 11, Grace, 9, and Lucas, 8.

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Julie Gilkay: Coming to terms with great expectations

As we were riding in the van and the rain continued to slam down on us, the thundering noise masked the music on the radio and I gripped my armrest a little tighter.

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